The door to door service

Today, after many months i had a knock on the door from our dear tablighi brothers. I was surprised, coz by not seeing them all winter i thought they had disappeared into thin air or something.lol!

Anyway, after exchanging salaams the brother (leader) informed me that they had come from sheffield and that they are holding a VERY VERY important talk on Islam at such and such masjid and that i was invited. I had relatives over so i thought i’d use that as an excuse to get out of it, so i said “Jazakallah! my dear brother i’m a bit busy right now, i’ve got relatives over from london”.

The leader went on…………we don’t know if we will live to see tomorrow nor do i know if i will make it back to the masjid……….and he went on………

This brother just wouldn’t take a hint. So he asked if i would like to go with them on their rounds, as if i was lying about the relatives part. When i replied in the negative, he started another bayan…………”I thought it was an invitation not an obligation” i asked myself, puzzled.

The bloke totally disregarded what i had said (**he automatically decided that i was using a lie as an excuse to not join them**) and was determined to make me finally say “OK! i’ll come with you guys“, but i though let’s not make a fuss and get rid of them politely.

The practice of the muslims is to accept the word of another muslim as the truth until certain signs or proofs start showing up which puts the persons truthfullness into doubt or suspicion, but these guys are something else.

I asked him “ok! so who will be giving the talk.?“. Erm….. I…..dunno…..yet, he replied. “you’re inviting me to a VERY VERY important talk and you don’t even know who’s giving the talk?” I asked. It must be very dis-organised i said to him. “well it will be one of us, who have come from sheffield” he said. Are you an Alim? i asked. no! he replied. Is there an Alim in your group.? i asked. He replied in the negative.

He kept on going on as if it was an obligation on me to go with them. I thought i’d try and divert the conversation otherwise he’ll never leave so i asked, “can i ask you something before you go.?” i asked. (not: that all along i have shown them much respect and humbleness, if it was the other way round they might’ve threatened to blow me up by now) sure brother go ahead, he replied. “do you practice mawlid” i asked. NO, NO its Bid’ah, i heard him say. Bid’ah? i thought to myself, i didn’t ask him for a fatwa, i just asked if he practiced it or not.

Bid’ah? How? i enquired with the chap. ” well you see, it was not practiced by the prophet (saw), it was not practiced by the blessed sahaba (RAA), it was not practiced by the tabi’een nor the ta’tabieen. It was not even in existence in those era’s infact the first appearance of the mawlid was over 600 years into the islam” he squeaked. “does anything bad happen, i mean do any haram acts take place at mawlid” i asked. Not as such, most of it is good but it was not practiced in the golden era’s, and some of the people who do practice it hold some weird beliefs that is why it is not allowed, he chanted.

I asked him “did the prophet (saw) do what you are doing? did the blessed sahaba (RA)? did the tabi’een, did the ta’tabi.? did the awliya allah kiram..?? was it in existence only 100 years ago..??“

This is different, he said with a smile (but his eyes showed a different picture to his smile) & they walked away without even saying that they were going.